Dissent is a death sentence

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Uttered by anyone else, Kim Jong Nam’s remarks about the absurdity of
communist hereditary succession and the need for reform in North Korea would
be little more than statements of the obvious.

But for a totalitarian country that claims to be the perfect society, with no
freedom of speech, such observations are breathtaking, especially coming
from a member of the ruling dynasty. They are only possible because of Mr
Kim’s status as an exile. Within North Korea itself, such criticism is more
than unacceptable — it is a virtual death sentence.